Sword Art Online: Reverse/Return

Chapter Three: The First Day Part II

Author's Note

In case you couldn't tell by when I published the last chapter in relation to this chapter, I've decided to publish these things once a week on every Saturday. Thus, I'll be able to build up a reserve of chapters that I've already written in advance so that if I run low on inspiration, I can have a safety net of sorts.

Anyway, I'll let you read now. At the bottom note, I'll tell you when this chapter was completed, as well as when I revised it for publication.

There was no sky in «Aincrad». Instead, the bottom of the next floor stretching out for a hundred meters was all that we had in exchange. Thus, the only times that the "real" sun could be seen directly were at sunrise and sunset. Of course, the moon followed suit.

Even so, it's not as if daytime was dim and the night was pitch black. Area lighting is applied in a similar fashion to other VR spaces, ensuring that people will be able to see when battling. Even in the forest at night, while obviously not to the level of daylight, a pale blue light illuminates everything all the way to one's feet, posing no inconvenience even when running.

However, the gloom in one's heart is another matter entirely. Regardless of how much attention one pays to their surroundings, the fear that something could be right behind still surfaces on occasion. It was only at times like this that I would miss the security of playing in a party, but I was beyond the point of no return. Both in terms of distance, and what the system dictated.

The number of «Skill Slots» allocated to a level one player such as myself was a mere two. One of my slots had been filled with «One-handed Straight Sword» right after the start of the game at one o'clock earlier that day. I had intended to consider carefully what to put into the other empty slot, but after experiencing that terrifying tutorial and leaving the «Starting City» behind, the idea of messing around with skills had been completely wiped from my mind.

For solo players, there were several vital skills for survival. Among those, the most important were «Searching» and «Hiding». Each one of those two increased ones rate of survival exponentially. However, the former also increased the efficiency of hunting, while the latter's efficiency fell slightly in this forest due to a certain reason. As such, I chose the «Searching» skill, deciding to add the «Hiding» skill in my next slot once it appeared.

That said, those skills were not focused on much, as manpower already increases safety; the same effect could be achieved by spreading out the searching range when playing in a party. Thus, the moment I took up the «Searching» skill, I had already forsaken all paths other than the one where I would rush straight through as a solo player. At some point, I knew that this decision might come back to haunt me, but at the very least, it wouldn't for the moment.

On the edge of my vision, as I walked while thinking such things in a corner of my mind, a small colored cursor appeared, catching my attention. My reaction range was enlarged due to my «Searching» skill, and as such, I couldn't yet confirm the identity of the owner by sight. The cursor was of a red color, which identified it as a monster, but it had a slightly dark hue, perhaps closer to magenta than a plain red.

The shades of red that monster cursors came in could be used to loosely determine their strength in relation to your own. The cursors of monsters that the system estimated that one could never defeat no matter how much one struggles, those with an overwhelming disparity in level, were a dark crimson, darker even than blood. Most weak monsters, from which virtually no experience points can be gained no matter how many one slays, are a light pink, close to a pure white.

The cursor that appeared within my field of vision had a slightly darker than average red color. The monster's name was «Little Nepent»; however, despite the little in its name, this monster was a walking predatory plant with a height of a meter and a half. Its level was three, hence the cursor appearing magenta to a level one player like me.

Although it wasn't an opponent to be made light of, there wasn't much cause for alarm, either. The yellow border surrounding the cursor indicated that it was the target for a quest.

I stopped walking for a moment, looking around for any other monsters in the immediate vicinity. When I confirmed that there were none, I turned to the «Little Nepent» once again and sprinted at it head on. Rear attacks were rarely effective against monsters without eyes such as this, as they used other means of sensing the area around them, usually in a three-hundred-sixty degree radius.

Moving off the path, I circled around a grand, old tree, the monster's form entering my sight once I made it around.

On its lower body reminiscent of the Nepenthes species, countless roots writhed about as it used them to move. Vines covered in pointed leaves twisted about its side. It had a giant mouth meant for consumption of prey near where its head should have been, the edges dribbling a viscous liquid as they snapped open and shut.

"… A dud."

Having seen what I needed to, these words left my lips in a soft whisper. Occasionally, one with a large flower blooming atop its giant mouth would appear. The key item needed for completion of the quest received at «Horunka», the «Little Nepent's Ovule», would only drop from such flower-bearing Nepents. Unfortunately, the rate of one with the flower spawning was likely less than one percent.

However, even the normal Nepents served a purpose. As long as one continued to slay them, the spawn chance of one with a flower will increase. As such, engaging one in battle was by no means a waste, but there was a more important point that couldn't be ignored.

At a rate similar to that of one with a flower spawning, a type of Nepent with a round fruit might appear. That one could be classified as a trap. If the fruit was struck in the heat of battle, it would break off with a deafening sound, releasing fumes with an unpleasant odor. The fumes possessed neither poisonous nor corrosive effects, exchanging those traits for a much more dangerous one. The fumes emitted from the fruit would draw other «Little Nepents» from the surroundings like moths to a flame, rallying them all against the attacking player. Not many would be summoned if the population of the area had been reduced, but given the current circumstances, countless numbers of the predatory pants would surely come and overwhelm me with sheer numbers, killing me in under a minute.

I focused my eyes on the area above the mouth of the «Little Nepent», and upon confirming the lack of any fruit, I drew the «Small Sword» from the scabbard on my back once more. It noticed me at the same time, raising its two vines up high in a threatening motion.

This monster's attack patterns included the use of the pointed edge of its ivy to slash and stab, similar to a dagger, and the disgorgement of corrosive fluids from its mouth. It had much more variety compared to the single-attack blue «Frenzy Boar», whose only attack was to charge wildly. Still, as it doesn't use «Sword Skills», it could be said to be easier than the demi-human mobs such as Kobolds and Goblins.

And above all, its attributes leaned a fair amount towards offense, leaving its defense weak. Even in the previous «Aincrad», I liked these types of monsters. After all, as long as you didn't take any hits, it was possible to take down several of them within a short amount of time.

"Shuuuuu!"

With that deafening howl spilling out from its pay-trapping mechanism of a mouth, the Nepent thrust its right vine towards me. In an instant, I read its trajectory, reacting just as fast and jumping towards the left to dodge. In one fluid motion, I stabbed it into the part joining the pitcher portion and its thick stalk –its weak spot.

A decent counter. The Nepent's HP bar shrank slightly, with a little over twenty percent having depleted.

Letting out a screech of anger once again, the plant inflated its pitcher, assuming the starting animation for the firing of corrosive fluids from its mouth. The range was at least five meters, making it impossible to dodge when retreating straight backwards.

Aside from HP damage and a drastic drop in equipment durability, the player's movement would also be severely hindered by the attack, should it make contact. However, its trajectory is limited to a narrow angle of thirty degrees in front, making it relatively easy to dodge.

After determining the timing at the last moment, the instant the expansion of the pitcher stopped, I jumped with all my might to the right. A pale green fluid shot out in a spray with a hissing sound effect, forming a white vapor as it showered onto the ground.

Having avoided getting a single drop showered onto me, I landed on the ground with my right foot and brandished my sword, dealing a hard blow to the same weak point. With a scream of agony, the Nepent's prey-trapping mechanism bent backwards as a golden glow encircled it. A «Stun» status. It might have been strange for a plant to be stunned, but there was no way in hell I could let this chance slip away.

Once again, I pulled my blade towards the right. Almost instantly, my «Sword Skill» activated, engulfing my sword in a pale blue light.

"Raaah!"

A shout of anger welled out of me as I violently kicked off of the ground. The single-hit, horizontal offensive technique to the neck known as «Horizontal». The only difference from «Slant» was the trajectory, but this way made it easier to aim for the «Little Nepent's» weak point.

Right before the plant monster recovered from the stun, with around fifty percent of its HP lost due to my earlier strikes, the «Sword Skill» gave its exposed stalk a straight slash. I had boosted the force to its maximum with the movements of kicking my foot and right arm. Glowing with a light effect, the blade cut into the tough stalk, facing what little resistance remained for only a moment before—

With a groan of pain resounding, the pitcher portion was sliced from the stalk, flying into the air by itself. What remained of its HP quickly changed to a red color as it diminished, before disappearing altogether as it reached zero. The «Little Nepent's» form froze in blue, then exploded into countless polygons.

My sword ceased its motion from the skill I executed as soon as the monster shattered. A window indicating the experience points received, twice that of the wild «Frenzy Boar», appeared right in front of me. A forty-second battle. If I were to continue at this pace, I would attain a fairly decent level of efficiency.

Lowering my sword arm to give it a rest, I surveyed my surroundings. Close to the limit of my searching range, several «Little Nepent» cursors arose. Those yet to be seen by other players.

Before others catch up to these hunting grounds, I had to level up as much as I possibly could. So much to that the monster population of the area became exhausted. That would be such a high level of egotism that it couldn't be marveled at, if I do say so myself, but this wasn't the time for the hypocrisy on a philanthropic solo player.

After about fifteen minutes of constant fighting, over ten «Little Nepents» had been slaughtered by my sword.

Unfortunately, one with a flower atop its mouth had yet to appear before me. In situations such as these, there is a "real luck dependency", as referred to in gamer lingo; in other words, it is reliant on the factor of luck the actual player has. In terms of quests, there haven't been many cases where I had been blessed with luck. Or at least, very few that I can remember.

No matter how irksome it is, players who can boast of their good luck, obtaining super rare items with drop rates of less than one percent one after another, succeeding in their equipment refining ten times in a row, and even getting along well with girls within games… as unlikely as it seems, these players really do exist. To compete with them, the only method available is simply to attempt these things over and over again…

Of course, regarding those attempts, I only mean the rare items and equipment refinement. I have absolutely no intention to continually spam greetings and pickup lines whenever I meet with girls.

And in the first place, due to what Kayaba Akihiko – who could be considered a god by all standards – had done, the avatars of the players had been matched with their real-life appearances. Thus, the population of female players in «Aincrad» would certainly have taken a sharp dip. I suppose it was helpful that one would have no need to doubt if the other party was actually a male inside, but it must have been quite the predicament for males intending to take up the role-play of a girl… or really, even females intending to take the form of a boy… choosing names and initial equipment to match. I can only hope that Kayaba prepared a name-changing item, or possibly a quest of something similar, for their sake.

Perhaps due to being ahead of schedule, as I thought of such things in a portion of my head, upon defeating the eleventh plant monster, a light fanfare rang out within my hearing. At the same time, a golden light effect enveloped my body. Along with what I had gained from hunting wild boars with Klein near the city, before this became more than a simple game, I had finally exceeded the number of experience points needed to level up.

If I were playing in a party, calls of congratulations would probably have been springing up from all around me at that moment. Instead, while listening to the rustling in the treetops of the old trees in the forest, I slid my sword back into the scabbard on my back.

I drew back my right index and middle fingers and swiped them downwards, pulling up the main menu window. Switching to the status tab and finding the three precious «Status Points» I added from my level up, I allotted one to Strength, and two to Agility. In «Sword Art Online», where magic does not exist, these two are the only visible statuses that could be manipulated by the player with each level up; thus, there was no need to hesitate in my decision. In exchange for this, a huge – and possibly infinite, as Kayaba said – number of skills, encompassing all sorts of battle-type and production-type abilities are in place. Hence, it would likely become a large cause of worry when the number of my skill slots eventually increased.

However, on that very day, to survive that single hour, I had to risk my life. There was no other option. Before thinking about the future, I had to ensure that I was adequately strong, level-wise, to make a so-called, "safety margin".

Finishing the status up process, I closed my menu. Then, from behind me—

Suddenly, some sort of stiff clapping rang throughout the area.

What the hell?!

I wildly jumped away, placing my right hand onto the handle of my sword. Getting absorbed in operating the status up window while in the field, letting down my guard from behind was a mistake even a beginner wouldn't make.

Berating myself mentally as I prepared for battle, what I saw upon turning around was a being that shouldn't have existed in this forest. A humanoid monster— no, wait…

A human? And… the cursor…

The cursor wasn't that of an NPC. It was the mark of a player.

A man slightly taller than myself, looking to be around the same age. His defensive equipment were the lighter armor and buckler sold at «Horunka Village». His weapon was the same «Small Sword» from the initial equipment. That said, his sword wasn't drawn. In a stance where his empty hands hung at his sides limply, he stared at me, slack-jawed.

So the clapping was coming from this man— no, boy… he was just congratulating me on my level up.

After I took a short breath, lowering my hands, the boy showed an awkward smile, bowing his head down for a moment.

"S-sorry," he stuttered out. "For starting you like that. I should have just called out to you."

"Don't worry about it. Sorry for overreacting like that."

Mumbling these words as a reply, I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my coat. The boy, whose features gave a first impression of seriousness, widened his faltering smile. He made a gesture of sorts, bringing the fingers on his right hand up near his right eye. As he lowered his hand with an embarrassed expression immediately after, I realized that he must have worn glasses in the real world.

"C-congrats… on your level up. That was pretty quick."

I reflexively lowered my head in thought at the boy's words. They felt… off, as if he had seen through my thoughts of 'if I were playing in a party' from earlier. I shook my head from side to side in a flustered reaction.

"It's not that fast," I denied, before realizing something weird. "And if you're going to say that, you're fast, too. I thought it would be at least two or three hours before anyone else reached this forest."

He laughed nervously, putting a hand behind his head. "I thought I would be the first to arrive, too. The path to get here is rather confusing, after all."

The very instant I heard those words leave his lips, I finally noticed, although belatedly.

He's the same as me…

Not in terms of equipment and gender, which just happened to coincide. Nor as the position of being a prisoner in this death game of ten-thousand players.

The boy before me had knowledge of this world equal to my own. The location of «Horunka Village». The reason why it was better to stick to the initial weapon instead of buying a «Bronze Sword». The area with the largest population of «Little Nepents». They all pointed to one thing.

Like me, he was a beta-tester.

The world's first VRMMO game, «Sword Art Online», officially went online with ten-thousand people gathered as players that day, on November sixth, 2022. However, three months before that, offered to a mere one-thousand people, was the game's play trial. In other words, a beta test.

In that test flooded by tens of thousands of applications, that was the only time I had an unbelievable stroke of real luck (though it could be argued to be the opposite at this point), by being selected as a participant. The test period lasted the whole of august. With the summer vacation allowing it, I continued to «Full Dive» from morning to night. Well, to be more accurate, from the afternoon to early morning, I bustled about «Aincrad», which had not yet become a cage of death, in a daze, brandishing my sword and dying. Over and over again.

Through countless attempts, via trial and error, I accumulated an extensive amount of knowledge and experience concerning this world.

The small pathways and escape routes not shown on the maps. The locations of towns and villages, the stock their shops keep. The price and stats of the equipment sold there. The activation requirements of quests and how to complete them. The spawn areas of monsters, their powers, and also their weaknesses…

It was due to those bits and pieces of knowledge that I got to where I was alive— that is, deep within a forest, far away from the «Starting City». If I were a complete newbie who did not participate in the beta test, I wouldn't have given a single thought to leaving the city alone. The same could likely be said for the boy standing several meters in front of me.

There was no doubt that the one-handed swordsman with hair slightly longer than mine went through the experience of the beta test, just as I did. Not just how he knew the roads of this maze-like forest, but even the stance he adopted as he stood, showed a familiarization with the original VR engine used by SAO's beta.

The assumption I had developed to that extent within a few seconds was easily supported by a single phrase from the boy.

"You're doing it, too, right? The «Secret Medicine of the Forest» quest, that is."

That was unquestionably the title of the quest I received at the private house in the village earlier. There was no more reason to deny it if he had already read my intentions that far. Upon the nodding of my head, he grinned while shifting his hand to those unseen glasses once again.

"That's a vital quest for one-handed sword users, so I'm not surprised," he continued, unintentionally letting on that he at least suspected of me what I knew of him. "After all, that reward, the «Anneal Blade», is good all the way up until the third floor's labyrinth."

"It's appearance isn't really much worth talking about, though."

As I added that bit in, the boy let out a bright laugh. After he finished, he opened his mouth after a short pause. The words that left it were quite different from my expectations.

"Hey, this is a rare chance. How about we work together on the quest?"

Author's Note

Chapter completed date: Monday, October 6th, 2014

Chapter revision date: Saturday, October 11th, 2014 (though it was at twelve at night. I was wide-awake from watching the Royals game!)

So, there you have it! It only took me a couple of days to finish this, and I finally introduced a new character other than Kayaba, Kirito and Klein! Sadly, he's a male, so he isn't eligible for Kirito's harem.

So, who is this new character? What are his intentions? What will happen to him and Kirito in the first night of SAO? All these questions will be answered in the next chapter!

Before I leave you with a disclaimer, I'd like to take the time to respond to a guest reviewer whose thoughtful comment felt like it needed responding to.

MagusZero: To answer your question, yes, that is a big reason why I set this story up that way. And also, I don't know if you've read any of the stories in Insert New Name Here's, Fatal Error: System Reboot story line, which has been rewritten quite a few times, but every single one starts out with time rewinding. Both them and I like to imagine that the Cardinal System does indeed have a lot of power, possibly enough to do something like rewinding time. So, in essence, it wasn't really Kayaba that had the god-like power, it was Cardinal. Regardless, I'm glad you were able to keep reading, regardless of your skepticism.

Okay, that's it! It's time for the disclaimer!

I don't own the Sword Art Online light novel series, any of its adaptations other than a Taiwanese/English subbed copy of Hollow Fragment (and I'll definitely get Lost Song when it comes out in 2015), or anything/one I use from them!

See you in the next chapter!